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I'm sick of doing what we've always done and praying for better results
Danny Bauer
August 17, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
Last Thursday night, I watched something remarkable happen on a Zoom call.
A principal who'd been struggling with the same leadership tool for months suddenly had a breakthrough. In just seven minutes, everything clicked.
But here's what really caught my attention: It wasn't the tool that changed. It was something much simpler (and more powerful) than that.
What happened in those seven minutes is exactly why school leaders decided to stop playing by someone else's rules and start writing their own.
And if you're tired of spinning your wheels on everyone else's priorities while your own vision gets buried under bureaucracy, you need to hear what we discovered ...
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OFF CAMPUS
Learn how to build trust (even in a system that breaks it) on this week’s pod. Watch on YouTube. Leave a comment with your biggest takeaway.
🤩 Join free: We’ve decided to open the “lounge” space in The Ruckus Maker Club for readers of this newsletter. Why join? It’s the only private digital space built for Ruckus Makers Doing School Different. Create your profile here.
If you want to piss off teachers do this: I’m guessing the principal thought it would be funny. Boy were they wrong.
Stop preparing students for the past. Start preparing students for the future. Join 6K+ people on LinkedIn and add your thoughts to this post.
A MESSAGE FROM THE BETTER LEADERS BETTER SCHOOLS PODCAST
TIRED OF LEADERSHIP ADVICE THAT KEEPS YOU PLAYING IT SAFE?
Most leadership podcasts tell you how to be a better administrator. How to follow the manual. How to keep things running smoothly without making waves.
Better Leaders Better Schools is different.
We don't teach you how to manage the status quo. We show you how to disrupt it. Because if education ain't a bit disruptive, then what are your students really learning?
This show helps visionary principals Do School Different — shifting FROM old, traditional, and broken ways of educating TO new, different, and creative ways that actually engage students.
What Ruckus Makers are saying:
Real innovation from visionary leaders (not Play-It-Safe-Principals recycling what's always been done)
Frameworks that create legendary campus experiences (like the ABCs of Powerful Professional Development® that helped one principal transform school culture in 90 days)
Deep dives that actually matter (30-45 minutes of strategies you'll use, not theory you'll forget)
The difference? While other shows help you maintain the system, we help you reimagine it.
Join 4,909 Ruckus Makers who listened this month.
Subscribe on:
DO SCHOOL DIFFERENT
Play Your Game is our newest 8-week leadership program for Ruckus Makers who reject the status quo.
It's designed to help principals burn the old playbook and design a leadership operating system that works for YOU (without burnout, without second-guessing, and without playing someone else's game).
Over 8 weeks, we take you through three phases:
The Reboot Phase: Get crystal clear on what matters most and align your energy with your vision instead of spinning your wheels on everyone else's priorities.
The Redesign Phase: Build systems that work for YOU and create campus shifts worth rallying around instead of drowning in reactive management and bureaucratic busywork.
The Reinforce Phase: Install sustainable rhythms that keep you growing and accountable instead of burning out or slipping back into old patterns that drain your passion.
Here’s Why Leaders Joined …
The responses were telling:
"We tend to fall into red tape... we can't do it just because that's the way we have to do it." -Allison
"I'm sick of the insanity definition—always doing what you've always done and praying for better results." -Crystal
"I want accountability. I look at all these great tools but never follow through on them." -Kati
"We become bound up by roles we didn't anticipate... stuff that doesn't give us joy." -Dan
These weren't principals looking for more tips or tricks.
These were leaders ready to stop playing someone else's game.
What We Covered Last Week
We dove deep into something every principal struggles with but few talk about openly: Taking an honest inventory of where you really are versus where you want to be.
Most principals are so busy putting out fires, they never step back to assess whether they're building the school (and life) they actually want.
We worked through the Lead Domino Assessment: a strategic realignment tool that helps you identify what matters most and where your energy is best spent.
What Happens When You Actually Do This Work
Dan had a breakthrough during our first session: "This is the third time I've taken a crack at this tool, and in seven minutes, I feel like I finally got some traction and some action items."
Crystal experienced a boost of confidence: "I think this actually helps me be more encouraged ... when you look at it holistically, you're not just focusing on that one thing you missed.”
One brand new principal had a reality check: "I had no choice but to get good at all of those things because I crashed and burned really hard."
Last Chance to Join The First Cohort
I'm reopening enrollment for Play Your Game until the end of day Monday.
This is the last chance to join this cohort. The Week One replay is live now and seven more magical weeks are left.
If you're tired of playing small or by the system’s rules … and you’re ready to intentionally design a leadership operating system that works for you …
Then reply to this email with “Play my game” in the body by the end of Monday.
No application. No sales calls.
Just reply with those three words and I’ll send over the program details for your review. And from there you can join.
TIP OF THE WEEK
The uncomfortable truth about “problem” teachers.
It’s easy to point fingers at staff when you’re not seeing the results you want.
But if you’re honest, that responsibility falls on you.
So before putting someone on an improvement plan and “helping them” find a new job …
Ask: Have I truly done everything I can to help this person be a success?
This includes:
Courageous feedback
Mentoring
Resources
Time
Etc …
Improvement plans are too easy to start. They should not be your default move.
What changes if you had to win with the current faculty you have?
Play-It-Safe-Principals are quick to use memos, pressure, and discipline plans.
Ruckus Makers win by (first) working with what they’ve got.
And something magical happens when you figure it out …
The teachers notice. Morale improves. A winning culture is built.
ALBA
Alba watching Breath of the Wild …
CLASS DISMISSED
Every week I talk to principals who know exactly what they should be doing but can't seem to break free from the systems holding them back.
Monday is your line in the sand. Will you keep hoping things change, or will you finally change the game?
If you'd like some help playing the Great School Leadership Game on your terms, reply to this email with "play my game" in the body, and I'll send over the details.
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